Cross the Line
by Serenitatis Cove
Summary: Two months later and the story behind 'Already Over' is revealed. You'll just have to read it because it goes into depth of what will happen next. R&R please.


Knothole's citizens were busy staying cool

Q.N. This took me over two months to finish and it'll lead into something much deeper. Enjoy!

M.P.

Everybody freeze - don't step over the line  
Don't stand up, they'll shoot down the first one who tries  
Try to change the world, they'll think you're out of your mind  
Revolutions start when someone crosses the line  
They want us to lie down, give into the lie  
Nothing has to change, and no one has to die  
That's not the secret, but I know what is:  
Everybody dies, but not everyone lives

Cross the Line-Superchick

Knothole's citizens were busy staying cool. Though Naugus had control of Mobius still, they had never experienced such a hot summer.

"Sal, when's Rotor gonna fix the fans?" Sonic asked. He would be running now but he was too hot to do much of anything.

"Sonic, he's doing the best he can. He needs frequent breaks so he can cool down," Sally replied, sighing. She silently agreed with the hedgehog, but knew there was no point to complain; the weather wouldn't change on her command.

"Let's go get the power ring," she suggested. As they walked by a tall bush, a certain red head left in a portal.

- - - -

"Sam, there's that guy again," Erika said.

"Where!" Sam asked, whirling around. She saw a man about her height, tan locks, and light blue eyes walking in from the heat. He was holding a child, looking about four years of age. She was pointing at something. The girls followed her finger, causing them to look at their chocolate fountain.

"Go on," Erika urged, "you guys have been doing this for two moths now."

"Fine," her cousin replied. She picked up a small disposable cup, walked over to the fountain, and let chocolate spill into it. She walked up, taking a deep breath and before she was behind him, she turned away and strode back to the counter.

"Sam, go talk to him," Erika whispered ferociously.

"I-I can't; I'm too nervous."

"You nervous? That's a change."

"I'm being serious," Sam said, jumping over the counter and ducking under it to get a soda. She stood up, meeting eyes with the man and froze. 'He's looking at me!'

"Erm, are you going to check me out?" he asked, voice nasally.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sorry," she said, taking the DVD in his hands and ringing it up on the cash register. She handed him the product.

"12.95, please." When he didn't respond, she tapped his hand quickly. He looked up.

"What?" he inquired.

"It's 12.95."

"Oh, right," he replied, distracted. He gave her some money and turned and left quickly, feeling stupid. 'I blew it again. If I stare anymore, she won't be interested.'

Erika looked at Sam, who tried to busy herself the best she could. She knew her cousin was embarrassed and wanted to help, but didn't know what to do.

"I'm, uh, going to take my break," she said. She went outside, dialing Sydney's number on her cell phone. This was a daily thing now; trying to get Sam to talk to her crush, call Sydney on her break, and tell what happened.

"Hey, Syd?" she asked.

"How'd it go?"

"Same as usual. A lot of looking but not much talking."

"They screwed it up again?"

"How much time do we have?"

"Not much. I'll be there as soon as I can. I have some business to take care of. Just try to get Sam and Snively to talk more."

- - - -

Sydney walked into Knothole, ready for any unexpected battles. She knew they wouldn't appreciate a complete 'stranger' walking into the village without notice. She saw Sally with Sonic and yelled her name, getting their attention.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked demandingly.

"Sydney, but that doesn't matter. What you can do for me, and the universe, however, does matter," she replied.

"What are you talking about?" Sally asked. This was exactly how Sydney expected it to go.

"Anyone who you think should hear this should be in the Meeting Hall in five minutes. Any who are late will not hear what I have to say. Is that clear?" Sydney said.

"Well, yes, but why?" Sally asked.

"You'll see."

- - - -

"So, what's this meeting for anyways?" Sonic asked, five minutes later. Sydney looked around at the group, acknowledging that the group was people her friends had hung around with when they were in Knothole, aside from Geoffrey St. John.

"Is this everyone?" she queried. After seeing them nod, she continued. "Two months ago today, your memory was erased, as well as four other people, but I'll get to them later. Do you remember a 'Snively Kintobor?'"

"Sydney, he died years ago, during Doomsday," Sally replied, her eyes confused.

"No, that's wrong! He's on Earth, in L.A., with his youngest daughter!"

"No way! Who'd ever wanna sc-"

"Watch it Sonic," Sally said threateningly. She turned to the human again. "I'm sorry, but he died."

"Is something wrong?" Bunnie asked.

"Yeah, you all were punished and you don't remember why."

"Punished? For what?" Rotor inquired.

"That's the thing; no one knows. How much time do you have? I can tell you what you need to know." Sally thought about it for a moment. Whereas she didn't want to have this 'Sydney' in Knothole and tell them things that seemed like lies, she was extremely curious about what else she had to say.

"We have a mission tonight but that is later in the evening. I think it would be okay," the princess finally replied.

"Alright. Get comfortable...Two months ago, three of us tried to protect the family.

\\\\(flashback)

"Where's Snively?" Sophia asked.

"I don't know," Alex replied, "probably with Sam."

"WHAT!?" Alex winced; she had let it slip. And, from the looks of it, Sophia looked downright furious.

"I meant Samuel! You know, that one guard!"

"Yeah," Erika joined in, "they're good friends." 'Maybe I can save them.'

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything's fine. You worry too much," Sydney said calmly.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Sophia said, getting up and striding to the door. "Something's not right." The other three ran in front of the door. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, uh... we make a dance for you. You wanna see it?" Erika said abruptly.

"Guards! Seize these three," Sophia ordered.

"Sydney, get out of here!" Alex said. Guards arrested her and her sister as Sydney orbed out. Sophia led the guards and her captives through the palace, eventually stopping at a door. Arable was standing in front of it, Sydney in a type of bind, struggling. Arable knocked on the door, then slammed it open. She and Sophia went to the bed, jerking Snively's head up by his hair.

"Ow! What the—Sophia!" he yelped, trying to tell Sam telepathically to leave. She moved out from under him slowly enough to not be noticed.

"Where is she?!" Sophia demanded.

"Who?" he asked, trying to appear innocent.

"You know very well who," Sophia hissed. He wasn't facing her, which angered her more. She shoved him back in the bed. He rolled over and sat up, trying to keep himself covered.

"What's going on?" he queried.

"I know 'she's' here." Arable saw a small movement and grabbed the blanket. She pulled up roughly, revealing Sam, digging her nails into the back of the brunette's neck.

"Let go of me," Sam growled.

"You are under arrest. Thank your 'friends' for it," Sophia said. "Get dressed."

"Yeah, yeah," her sister grumbled, snapping her fingers, her clothes appearing on her. Her husband did the same, shocking everyone else aside from his wife and Sydney. The guards drug them out of the bed and cuffed them.

/So much for a romantic evening/ Snively said.

/Eh, it was fun while it lasted/ Sam replied. The arrested group was led out of the bedroom and down the hall.

"Mommy!" Serenity yelled, running down the hall towards her mother.

"Go back to bed, sweetie," Sam said, trying to shoo her daughter off. The child tried to get closer, but her aunt stopped her. When her niece resisted, Sophia pushed her niece back, causing her to trip and fall backwards. Serenity began crying, holding her arm. Her mother struggled in her restraints and against the guards, breaking the grip of the guards and running to her daughter, trying to calm her. Snively followed suit and joined his wife, knocking guards down. Sailor Juno ran down the hall, quickly releasing the couple and Sydney.

"Thanks," Sam said while her husband picked up Serenity, soothing her. They took off running, Sydney orbing out. The alarms went off and the red lights began flashing without rhythm. The closer they got to the garden, the quicker they ran. They saw Hope looking out of a window, stopping momentarily. Snively gave Chibi to Sam.

"Hope, let's go," Snively said firmly, pulling at his oldest daughter's arm. "C'mon, let's go!" 'He sounds frantic,' Hope decided. She followed her parents, wondering what was going on.

"Faster, Hope," her father said firmly, his words sounding jolted as he ran. She obeyed, hearing several footsteps pounding heavily behind them, catching up quickly. The family burst into the garden, realizing a serious mistake; they trapped themselves.

"Guys, up here!" Sydney shouted, opening a portal, halfway up the waterfall. Serenity began to cry again, scared. Her mother tried to calm her down but failed. The guards flooded into the garden, preparing for battle, knowing Sam wouldn't go down easily, but neither would her daughters' father for that matter. One guard shot twice, hitting Snively with a dart. The second dart targeted the youngest child, who howled louder.

"Sam, give me her," Snively said, falling to the ground. She did so, pulling Hope with her to run, even though she kept looking back when running.

"Here; sorry I couldn't teach you how to wield this," Sam said, giving her oldest her sword while unsheathing her sais. Hope looked at her mother in shock. Sophia orbed in front of them, cutting them off. Sam fought with Sophia, winning the battle easily. Sophia swung her sword around, jabbing Sam in the shoulder.

"Mom!" Hope cried. She had no idea what to do. Should she fight or continue on? Her question was quickly answered when something pierced her back. She fell to the ground on her stomach, reaching for the dart and pulling it out, whimpering, tears in her eyes. She watched as her aunt shot her mother point blank in the chest, her mother falling to the ground. Hope gradually lost consciousness, scared."

\\\\

"But how are they still alive?" Sally questioned, interrupting Sydney.

"Hush, hush!" King Max said. "I'm sure she was getting to that."

"I don't get it," Sonic stated.

"That's nothing new," Geoffrey snorted.

"What don't you get?" Sydney asked.

"Well, why does Sophia think Sam is evil?"

"She thinks Sam betrayed us, which she didn't. She saved us all from dying. Now can I get on with the story?" after seeing them nod, she continued.

\\\\(flashback)

/Sam?/ No reply.

"Sam?" Snively murmured. A groan was his response. "You alright?"

"Sure; just perfect," she muttered. She tried to get up but couldn't.

"Don't bother. I already tried to get up."

"Where are we?"

"The lab." She looked over at him. He was in the same position as she: lying on a slanted metal table with his ankles and wrists shackled down. She struggled for several minutes before finally giving up. She moved her head so she could look at her husband.

"Where are the girls?"

"They're across from us. They haven't moved since I've woken up." They were quiet for a moment.

"Why the hell are we in the lab?" she queried, starting to struggle again.

"I'm not sure but I don't think it's for a check-up on our health," he replied, testing the shackles to see if he could be in a more comfortable position; he couldn't. Sam strained to look up, seeing their children directly across from them with masks covering their mouths and noses. They weren't as restrained as their parents were.

"Kids," Sam said loudly, trying to wake them. The couple heard several footsteps, straining their necks so they could see who was coming. Sophia, in her Senshi uniform, came striding in the room with Sailor Uranus, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, and Ceres, as well as the Star-fighter Senshi. Sam glared at them.

/Calm down. They're probably going to let us go/ Snively said, looking at Sam, who was struggling to break free, trying every possible way she could think of to undo the shackles.

/Think about what you just said!/ she practically screamed in his head. /They're going to do something to us! We gotta get out of here!/ He knew she was right but didn't want to believe her. He looked above him and saw the machine that monitored his heart rate and saw his was pretty normal. As for Sam, her heart rate was increasing quickly.

"Sam, calm down!" he told her. Instead of listening to him, she transformed into her Senshi form, flapping her beautiful angelic wings in hopes that it would help her. Sailor Mars went behind Sam and, reaching in front of her, put a mask on her.

/Sam, please calm down!/

/No!/ He looked over at her in shock. She had never used that threatening of a tone with him before. Sophia walked up to Sam, who was still struggling, and jabbed a needle into her sister's arm, trying to block out the short scream and injected a liquid. Sam still struggled but gave less effort and eventually gave up all together. Her breathing slowed and she stared at the ceiling with a blank, glassy stare.

/Sam? / No reply. / Sam, answer me./

"Sam," Snively said, struggling.

"Don't," Sophia said harshly.

"What's wrong with her?" Sailor Ceres looked at the medicine's identification.

"Sophia! Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

"No," she replied in a bored manner, "but I bet you're going to tell me."

"You drugged her!"

"WHAT!" Snively yelled. "How could you do that to her!"

"Shut up." She looked at Snively, who glared back harshly. "Now, you're going to tell me everything I want to know." They heard a loud squeak and realized it was just Sam, who was feeling the effects of the drugs.

"I don't know anything," Snively snapped. Sophia slapped him across the face.

"That's a lie and we all know it. How long have you had contact with Sam?" He didn't reply. He was very loyal to his wife. The queen looked at Sailor Neptune. "Go get Leo, Melissa." The aforementioned Senshi left the room and came back with Leo a few minutes later.

"What is your bidding?" he asked.

"Get to work and start on Serenity first."

"Yes, Your Highness." Leo rolled a small machine out and stopped when he was behind Chibi. He put a metal headband on her head and pressed a button. A soft pink light lit up around the band.

"What are you doing!?" Snively demanded. He had to be the strong one now that his wife was in her own little world, thanks to her sister.

"Erasing her memory," Sophia replied coolly.

"WHAT??"

"Don't worry, you'll all go through it, aside from Sam, who's going to be executed at sundown tomorrow."

"You can't. Not without killing me."

"That's very noble of you, but you won't remember her." He sighed, 'time to come clean.'

"You'll kill me if you kill Sam. I'll die the moment she dies," he said weakly.

"How so?" Sophia inquired, her face inches from his, her eyes staring frigidly into his stone cold gaze.

"She and I bonded souls." She backed away from him quickly. "We broke the Silver Crystal."

"S-Silver Crystal B-bind?" Sophia whispered in a hushed tone. He nodded. "How?"

"The prop-"

"Yeah, I know 'that' part... I suppose this alters things slightly. Leo, move on to Hope," she said. He did so without saying a word. She looked back at Snively, seeing something flicker on his left hand. She jerked his arm up, causing him to curse loudly, which he was slapped for. She examined his hand, seeing a ring.

"What's this?" she prompted, pulling off the small, silver band.

"It's nothing."

"It looks like a wedding band." He looked away from her, telling her she was right. "You married her? How could you marry that traitor! Is she worth your life?! Is she!?"

"Every BIT OF IT! She's my life, you have to understand that." Sophia went over to Sam, who giggled. She turned on a machine connected to her sister's mask. Snively looked over, hearing something. He saw his wife's eyelids flutter shut after a moment.

"Neptune, get his mask," the queen ordered. 'Sam was right! I need to get away, save them,' he thought frantically. He fought against his restraints, contending with Sailor Neptune when she tried to put the mask on him. He watched in misery as Leo put the headband on Sam, who was in too deep of a slumber to do anything. Snively was too busy watching Leo work on his wife to notice Sophia turning on something close to him. He began to feel very tired and realized the air he was inhaling was a type of sleeping gas. He looked over to his sister-in-law, his eyes pleading.

"This is punishment for her betraying us and for disobeying rules. Not only did she betray the Moon Kingdom, she dragged you down with her," Sophia said coldly.

Before passing out, he managed a final thought, "I love Sam. Nothing will change that. I'll find her, I swear it."

"What do we do now?" Alicia inquired.

"Erase certain memories and implant fake ones," Sophia replied, "you should have already known that."

"What about Knothole and Robotropolis? It'll look bad if this family just disappears," Arable said. The queen thought about it before agreeing.

"Very well. Let's get started.""

\\\\

"That's a little outrageous, don't you think?" Sally said.

"No, it really happened, I swear it!" Sydney replied. Her phone rang and when she answered it, she was greeted by shrill screaming.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"You will never guess who asked me out!" It was Sam. "Snively! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, that's awesome! Why don't you tell me more about it later."

"Um, okay, but you gotta listen because I will give you the play by play." Sydney looked up at the Freedom Fighters, seeing them look at her curiously. It was as if they were silently asking her what had happened. She took a breath.

"Snively asked Sam out on a date!" She couldn't conceal the smile she so desperately tried to hide. "You're all closer to regaining your memory."

"Wait a sec," Sonic said. Sydney struggled from telling him to shut up. "Are we even gonna meet these guys?"

"...sure, why not? Let's go now. Not everyone can go...six can go. Hurry up and pick." The red head waited, pacing around, waiting on the six who were to go with her.

- - - -

"Sam! Could you please stay still?" Erika queried. She set a box of band shirts down. Her cousin stopped in mid-pace and looked at her.

"What band is that?"

"Red."

"Cool. When'd it come in?"

"Two hours ago when you were on break." They heard their shop's door open and saw Sydney come in with six unknown people.

"Uh, Syd, who are these...people?" Sam asked.

"I'll explain later. Anyways," Sydney replied, going in order in which the Freedom Fighters were standing before them, "Sonic, Sally, Shadow, Bunnie, Antoine, and Tails."

"I'm Erika and that's Sam."

"Cool," Sonic said, "way past cool." Sam gave a smile before going to the counter and jumping over to the other side. While the others talked, she sorted through the day's profits and what was needed to pay for the store's bills. She heard the store's door open and glanced up, planning to tell whoever came in to leave because they were closed. She froze when she looked into crystal blue eyes, which sparkled as if electric sparks surged through them. Snively.

"C-can I help you?" she inquired.

"Uh, yeah. Is it alright if I look at some Cds?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah, go ahead." 'Why am I so nervous around this guy?' she wondered. The Freedom Fighters watched as he looked at the Cds, though he watched Sam more, who tried to busy herself.

"This is what has been happening for the past two months," Sydney whispered. The Freedom Fighters, Erika, and Sydney talked, glancing over at the other two frequently. Sam saw Snively had a cup of coffee with him and went over to tell him to take it where the tables were. She tapped him on the shoulder and the next she knew, the front of her shirt was soaked with hot coffee.

"I am very sorry," Snively said, "I really am. I didn't mean to do it, you startled me. It was an accide-"

"It's fine. I uh was going to tell you that if you're going to have a drink or something, you need to be over there," she replied, nodding her head over to where the tables and food were. "I just wasn't planning to have coffee spilled on me as an answer."

"I know and I'm terribly sorry."

"It's fine. I just gotta go to the back."

"Do you mind if I come? I could carry something or whatever you need me to do."

"'Kay, c'mon," she replied, leading him to the back, giving her friends a mischievous smile, while they looked at her in surprise.

"Why were they looking at you like that?" Snively asked. She shrugged.

"I don't really know...do you like this shirt?" He looked at it; dark blue with a faded white and gold guitar on it.

"Yes, I do. It's reall-" He stopped in the middle of his thoughts, his eyes wide, his jaw slacked. "M-m-"

"What?" she asked, pulling the clean shirt over her head. "You've never seen a bra before?"

"I-it's not that," he replied quickly. He strode to a box and opened it, taking out a Cd. "I just...found what I was looking for."

"Really?" She took it from his hands. "I didn't think you'd like Tokio Hotel."

"Oh, yeah, they're really good."

"So, what's your favorite song by them?" He was caught off guard about the subject of the question.

"Oh, you know, that one song that's been on the air lately."

"'Ready, Set, Go?' that's my favorite by them too!" 'What have I gotten myself into?' he wondered weakly. She took him by the wrist and pulled him back into the store, sitting him at a table.

"So what else do you like?" she asked, sitting across from him.

"Not a whole lot," he lied. "I have to work a lot and take care of Serenity so I don't have a lot of time for hobbies." The last part of what he said was true.

"That sucks. Hope does a bunch of stuff on her own now so I have a lot of time to myself."

"Um, 'Hope?'" he queried.

"Yeah, my daughter."

"I didn't know you had a daughter."

"Yeah, I adopted her a couple of years ago." She looked and saw the others turn their heads away from them. "So," she continued, "about that date..." She saw his distressed look and tried not to giggle.

"Well, uh, we could go now. I mean it's not much of a notice and we're not going to be able to do much."

She shrugged, "oh well." She got up, went to the counter (knowing he was watching her), grabbed her bag, and walked back over to him. "Ready?"

He stood up, feeling nauseous. 'Where am I going to take her?' he thought. 'Maybe I should take her for a walk in the park.' "Yes, let's go."

"See you guys later," Sam waved. Snively held the door open for his date, feeling very lucky. He opened his SUV's passenger door open for her also, helping her into the seat. He went to the other side and got in.

"Thanks," she said abruptly.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. No man's ever held the door for me. It's kind of nice." He drove quietly to the park, watching his date occasionally, who was contented to staring out the window.

"You know," he said, grasping her attention, "it took me two months to ask you out."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Oh, uh, it's just that-"

"-I have money. That's what it always is."

"You're just so beautiful." She looked at him.

"What?"

"You're beautiful."

"Oh, thanks." He pulled into a parking spot and shut the vehicle off.

"Ready?" he looked over to see her splayed out and reclined in her seat. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, let's just get this over with."

"If you didn't want to go out tonight, you could've just told me so."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"It's just that when I go out with guys, it's either money or lust that they're after, and I don't find that out until it's too late."

"That's terrible and I thought I was having a hard time right now."

"What do you mean?" Sam queried.

"I'm having financial problems. I started this new job about two months ago and I like it but I'm not getting paid very much right now," Snively replied. "Anyways, instead of sitting here, do you want to go on a walk?"

She smiled, "I'd love to." They got out of the SUV and walked through the park, telling each other of their current lives.

"I'm so sorry about your wife," Sam said.

"It's not your fault Sarah died of cancer," Snively answered. He saw a small stand where the entrance of a carnival was. "Are you up for a few rides?"

"Sure, why not?" They walked quickly into the park, paid for some tickets, and looked for some rides. They stood in line at the Ferris wheel, though Sam looked slightly apprehensive. They gave the man who was managing the ride their tickets, got in the seat, and were gradually lifted into the air.

"Snively, I want down."

"Why? Is something wrong?" he asked. She looked over the railing and turned slightly pale.

"No...No. what would make you think that?"

"For starters, you didn't seem very excited to get on and you act like you're frightened." Snively pulled her closer to him, feeling her trembling in his arms. "You're shaking."

"I-I'm fine." She thought for a moment. "I'm just cold." The ride began to creep forward and she held onto him tighter, eventually resting her head on his shoulder when she relaxed slightly. When they got off, Sam dragged Snively to a game and had a five dollar bill out to give to the woman running the game. She gave Sam three darts. She threw the first one, which barely missed a balloon, and the second one barely missed the woman, who gave a dirty look. She threw her last one and hit the center of a red balloon. She chose a small, green bear with a small, red, heart button nose as her prize and presented it to her date, who awkwardly accepted it. They walked around for awhile before Snively found a game he liked. He paid for the fee and got four baseballs.

"Watch the master," he smirked.

She laughed, "yeah, riiight." He threw the first ball with perfect accuracy. His second throw was the same as the first, but his third was lame, missing his targets.

"Last one," he said before chucking the last baseball, which hit all three targets dead on.

"Dang, you are good." He picked out a big, tan teddy bear with a big, red bow on its neck and gave it to his date, who thanked him. She bought them some cotton candy while he held their prizes.

"I have to go to work soon so maybe we should start heading back." She nodded in agreement. They walked over to the other side of the park, talking about their kids. On the way back, they talked about their interests and goals.

"You know," Snively said, "I honestly have no idea who Tokio Hotel is."

"I figured as much," Sam replied smiling widely. "So, who do you like?"

"Day of Fire."

"Really? What's your favorite song by them?"

"'Regret.'"

"Yeah, that's a pretty good song. I really like 'Love' by them."

"I do too." He pulled into a spot two parking spots away from Sam's music store.

"You're pretty good at parallel parking," Sam commented.

"Thank you, considering I never do it," Snively replied. He got out of the SUV and helped his date out, who was trying to see over her new bear's head. He grabbed the bag of cotton candy and walked his date to the door.

"I'll see you around, I suppose," he said.

"No, wait, why don't you come in? I want to give you my phone number."

"If you insist," he smiled. He held the door open for her before going in himself.

"Where've you guys been?" Erika queried.

"The park," Snively answered, "and a carnival."

"That explains the giant bear." Sam had set the bear down before noticing something.

"Where'd everyone go?"

"Home. We're closed, 'member?" Snively raised a brow.

"'Closed?' I believe you forgot to mention that to me earlier," he said. She blushed before taking her phone out and handing it to him. He gave her his phone before adding his number to her address book. When he looked up, he saw his phone in front of his face. They exchanged phones again, not knowing what to do.

"I'll call you later," Snively said.

"Okay," Sam said sweetly, watching him leave.

"So, how'd it go?" Erika asked slowly. Sam dropped into a bean bag chair, heaving a sigh of happiness.

"Best date of my life. The only thing that could've made it better was if he'd of kissed me," she replied, pinching off a bite of the cotton candy, clearly in a state of bliss.

"Are you gonna lock up or am I?" Erika inquired.

"I will," her cousin replied.

"See ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, later," Sam replied. She straightened up the store before grabbing her stuff, putting it in her lambo, turning off the store's lights, and locking the front door before leaving.

- - - -

"Hey Snively!" Sam cheerfully said the next morning. The Freedom Fighters looked up from their spots, seeing the aforementioned man smile widely.

"Hello Sam," he replied. He went over to the coffee counter and got a cup of coffee and brought it over to Sam, who was running the cash register.

"It's on the house," she smiled, "but only if I get something from it in return."

"Well...do you have anything going on for lunch today?" Snively queried.

"No," Sam sighed.

"It's not going to be posh or anything and Serenity would have to join us, but-"

"If I say yes, will you stop rambling?"

"Yes, sorry."

"See you at noon?" she asked. He nodded.

"Noon it is." He left quickly, feeling his cheeks get hot. 'I have to do it.'

"Sam, you don't act happy. You just got asked out on another date," Sally said.

"Yeah, I know. It's just tha-" Sam was suddenly turned around, pulled to someone, and dipped, then given a long kiss. When she was brought up, she looked into a pair of pale sky blue eyes that seemed to have a spark in them.

"Noon already?" she murmured.

"See you later," Snively said, walking out of the small store casually. Sam stood where she was, stunned. Sydney came up to her smiling.

"I think that went well," the red head commented.

"Yeah, no kidding," the brunette smiled, then set off to make it appear she was busy, waiting restlessly for noon.

- - - -

"Daddy, can we go to Burger King?" Serenity inquired. She was walking with her father. Or rather, he was walking and she was trotting to keep up.

"We'll see," he replied, opening a door and letting her in before going in himself.

"Hey!" Sam greeted cheerfully.

"Ready to go?" Snively asked.

"Yeah, just let me grab my hat and jacket." Hope walked into the store with two of her friends.

"Mom, I need 350," Hope said.

"What the heck for?"

"I wanna pick out a couple of new outfits."

"Two outfits don't cost 350, Hope."

"But Mom," Hope protested, "that's not fair."

"Life's not fair." She turned away and waved. "Catch ya guys later." She walked out with Snively and Serenity.

"Does Burger King sound alright?" Snively inquired. She zipped up her light blue diamond French terry jacket over her plain dark gray T-shirt. She flipped her curls behind her back and tilted her hat, which matched her shirt, giving the world a perfect view of her small hoop earrings.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"You're pretty," Serenity said.

"Aw, thank you."

"Come on, get in," Chibi's father said, opening one of the side doors and helping his daughter into her car seat. Sam got in the passenger's seat while Snively finished buckling Serenity into her car seat and got into the driver's seat. When they pulled out, Serenity began chattering about her short lived day at day care.

"I forgot to warn you that she gives every single detail," Snively said.

"Seems kind of like a perfectionist or has photographic memory," Sam replied. "Is it okay if I turn on the radio?"

"Sure, go ahead." She turned it to one of her favorite stations, hearing 'Crippling Machine' by A Rotterdam November. "This isn't half bad."

"See? Just expand your music preferences some," Sam answered.

"Earlier, that was your daughter?"

"Yeah, sorry you guys had to hear that argument." She paused, listening to 'Love Hate' by Disciple. "Y'know, music really seems to be the only way I can express myself."

"Everyone needs to be able to express themselves differently," Snively replied. He pulled into the fast food joint's parking lot and parked three spots from the door. They went in and waited on Serenity to decide on what she wanted to eat. Ten minutes later, she finally chose to have a chicken nugget kid's meal. They sat together in the small area where the massive playground was.

"Daddy, can I go play?" Chibi queried.

"You ate half a fry."

"But I'm full now." Sam stopped eating her chicken fries for a moment.

"Serenity, eat first and then you can play, okay?"

"Okay, Sam." The child began quietly eating her meal. Her father looked at his date curiously, wondering how she got his child to cooperate so easily.

"I'm done. Can I go play now?" Chibi asked, ten minutes later.

"Yes, you may," her father replied. She got out of her chair and bounded for the playground. "Alright, how did you get her to cooperate so well?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. She's probably disgusted with us because we're half done," Sam replied.

"Yes, probably," Snively laughed. They continued eating, discussing their careers before Sam thought about a question.

"Snively, what do you think about the Senshi?"

"What?" he coughed, choking on his soda.

"What do you think about the Se-"

"I heard you. I don't really know what to think about them." She moved her straw in her cup, pushing the soda around in it.

"I think they're good."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Well, they try everything they can to protect everyone and even though people get hurt, the Senshi figures out a way to help them, even if they don't want it."

"Very well spoken," Snively said.

"Thanks. Are you going to finish those?" Sam answered, pointing at his fries.

"No, have at them," he replied, giving her the rest of his fries. She took his fries and ate them quietly. "Those didn't last long."

"Yeah, I missed breakfast." Serenity ran up and climbed into her father's lap and as the adults talked, she began to nod off. Her father looked down at her and picked her up carefully while getting up.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "but I need to put her down for a nap."

"Oh, okay," she replied. She got up, grabbed Chibi's toy, and followed Snively to his SUV.

"Do you want me to take you back to your music shop?" he queried.

"Nah, I'm having too good of a time."

"I'm going home."

"So?"

"Alright then." He paused for a moment. "What are we going to do?"

"Have any good movies?"

"Well, I rented Scary Movie 3 but I don't think you'll like it."

"Are you kidding? I love that movie." They sat in silence as he drove home.

- - - -

"Where is she?" Erika wondered aloud.

"Maybe she lost track of time," Sally said.

"I'd say, lost two hours of it. And she hasn't called either."

"Maybe you should call her," Tails suggested.

"Good idea," Erika replied. She took out her cell-phone and dialed her cousin's number.

"Hello?"

"Sam, where the heck are you?! You're two hours late!"

"I'm at Snively's place watchin' a movie."

"You're where?"

"We're waiting on Serenity to wake up from her nap."

"Well tell her to hurry up."

"I'll talk to ya later, okay?"

"Whatever; just get here soon, okay?"

"Yeah." Erika closed her phone and shook her head before smiling.

"She's at Snively's?" Sydney inquired.

"Yeah, they're 'waiting' for Serenity to wake up from her nap," Erika said.

"I'm just curious," Sally started, "but what will happen after our memories are 'restored?'"

"Unfortunately, we don't know yet."

"How can you not know what to do?" Sonic queried.

"It's kind of hard to know what to do when your two leaders and best defenses have no clue who they are and what the heck they're doing!" Sydney venomously said.

"'Leaders?'" Shadow quietly repeated, rolling the word in his thoughts back and forth.

"Sydney, if we proclaim that they're our leaders," Erika said, "we're going to end up fighting another war."

"Yeah, well, maybe that's what we need," Sydney snapped. "Because after all, our queen says we're feeding Xavier and Ann information." They heard the shop door open and watched Snively, who was carrying a half asleep Serenity, and Sam come in, both looking happy.

"Hey, what's up?" Sam asked, noticing the tension.

"Nothing," Sydney said flatly, walking out.

"What's up with her?"

"Stress at work," Erika replied. Snively set his daughter down and followed Sam to the cash register, standing in front of the counter.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?" Sam asked, leaning on the counter.

"Working. Today and tomorrow are the only days off I'll have for a couple of weeks."

"What's your shift?"

"11-7. Why?"

"Well, there's this big camp out party this weekend and I was wondering if you'd like to go."

"I don't know..." he replied.

"Oh please! It'll be so-much-fun! And besides, I'll be there."

"When you put it that way...I don't know if I could get off from work though."

"So you'll go?"

"If I can get off from work, but I need the money."

"So you'll go?"

"I'll have to find someone to watch Serenity."

"So you'll go?" Sam inquired eagerly.

"Yes." She pulled Snively in for a kiss happily.

"Let me see your phone." He gave her his phone and watched as she quickly went through his phone numbers. She picked a number and waited for someone to answer.

"Who's your boss?"

"Uh, Mr. Bruckner." She held up a finger to signal him to be quiet.

"Could you please patch me into Mr. Bruckner," Sam queried.

'What are you doing?!" Snively whispered frantically. She ignored him.

"Yes, is this Mr. Bruckner?... Is there any possible way to change Snively Kintobor's schedule for a day?"

"Which day?"

"Saturday."

"Let me check the schedule." She heard the tapping of a keyboard in the background while she was waiting for a reply. "If Kintobor works tonight, he may have Saturday off," Mr. Bruckner said.

"Okay, I'll tell him. Thank you," Sam said.

"If I may ask, who is this?"

"Sam Brody. Goodbye." Click. She turned to Snively.

"What'd he say?" Snively queried curiously.

"He said you could have Saturday night off as long as you work tonight," Sam replied.

"Tonight? I don't have a sitter for Serenity though, and I can't take her to work with me."

"I'll watch her tonight."

"'You'll' watch her?"

"Yeah, I will." She tore off a piece of paper and began writing an address and directions down. "Here's where I live and how to get there."

"I think I'm going to go home and get her ready to go," Snively said.

"See you soon, I guess," Sam replied. The child ran past them when Sam picked her up and gave her to her father. He kissed Sam on the cheek and left. She stood for a minute before remembering something. She ran out of the shop, seeing Snively fastening his daughter in her car seat.

"Hey! Wait up!" she yelled, getting his attention.

He turned to her. "What is it?"

"I don't get off until six tonight. It takes about fifteen-twenty minutes tops for me to get home. So, maybe meet me at my house at 6:20? By the way, you might wanna bring something for her to do so she won't get bored."

"I was planning on it. I know I really shouldn't ask, but since you live fairly closer to where I work than I do, is there any possible way-"

"-that you could snag a nap at my place? Yeah, go ahead; I don't care." Snively looked at her surprised, thinking she wouldn't agree with him.

"Thank you. Listen, I'm going to go home and get her ready to go." Sam kissed his lips quickly.

"See ya later." She walked away from the SUV and watched him drive off before going in.

- - - -

"Serenity," Snively asked, "what do you want to wear tomorrow?" The child looked up from her coloring book.

"I don't know," she replied, reaching for a green crayon.

"Well, what about a skirt?"

"Okay, but I want to wear the frilly one with the blue butterfly that's sparkly." He pulled the aforementioned object out of the dresser drawer and put it in a purple book bag with a floral design on it. He went to the closet and took out a light blue short-sleeved shirt with colorful butterflies on it and packed it in her bag. He packed some pajamas, underclothes and his daughter's periwinkle throw blanket.

"Serenity, go pick out a couple of movies to take to Sam's." The child ran into the living room without saying anything. He went into the kitchen and picked up a pill bottle and put it in a ziplock bag. He got out two smaller ones and a large one. He went into the bathroom and put his daughter's shampoo and bath soap in the large bag and her toothpaste and toothbrush in one of the small bags while putting his own toothbrush and toothpaste in the other one. 'Hmm, I wonder if she'll let me shower at her home as well.' He picked up his daughter's brush and other things and put them in Serenity's bag.

"Serenity, do you have your DVDs?"

"Yes, Daddy." The girl ran up to him with several cases in her hands.

"Sweetie, I said two, not ten." Snively helped his daughter pick out two videos and finished packing before going to Sam's an hour and a half later.

- - - -

Snively pulled into Sam's driveway, suddenly driving very slow. 'It's so big,' he thought. He stopped and turned off his vehicle.

"Daddy, are we gonna live here?"

"No, you're just staying the night."

"Then why did you pack?"

"Don't worry about that." There was a brief silence when they saw a silver sports car. Sam got out with Hope getting out too.

"Hey, hope you haven't been waiting long," Sam greeted.

"No, we just got here."

"Oh, well, come in," she said, unlocking her door and opening it up. "Um, excuse the mess; the maid couldn't come this week."

"That's fine," Snively said. Lower, he added, "at least you can afford it."

"What?" Hope queried.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, receiving a dirty look from the teen. His daughter ran into the large living room.

"Serenity, no running in the house."

"'Kay, Daddy."

"Let me help with those bags," Sam said, taking a bag from Snively. "Hope, watch Serenity while I show Snively around."

"Whatever." Sam turned away and walked upstairs with Snively following after. She opened a door.

"This obviously is one of the bathrooms." She walked off and pointed at a door. "That's my room and the door across from my room," she pointed to the door, "is where Serenity will sleep." She opened the door and he saw somewhat of a medium sized yellow room. The room was very cozy with a small bed. In front of that was a toy chest. There was a crib in the far corner of the room and a wooden rocking chair near the crib.

"It's a nice room. I'm sure she'll love it," he said, referring to his daughter. "But what's the crib for?"

"Nothing; it's just there. Anyways, I'll show you where you can sleep." She left the room quickly. He followed her, wondering why she changed the subject so abruptly. She opened a door, letting him into a comfortable green and black room. There was a large fireplace not far from the bed. Snively dropped his bags, jaw dropped also.

"I hope this is okay," Sam said.

"'Okay?' It's wonderful I assure you," Snively replied. They sat on the bed and talked about what Serenity could and couldn't have. Sam looked at the clock.

"I think I'll order some pizza. Sound okay?"

"Yes, it's fine." She called the pizza place and ordered while he sat and looked around the room.

"Said they'd be here in twenty minutes."

"Oh? So what are we supposed to do until then?" He saw the fire reflect in her eyes from the fireplace and saw her smile. He leaned in for a kiss, giving her several more. He put his hand in her hair, pulling her closer to him. She subconsciously leaned back, pulling him down with her. They weren't keeping track of time for they were enjoying what they were doing too much to care.

"Whoa! Yeah, you're definitely 'showing him around' alright," Hope said. The couple jerked away from each other while sitting up quickly.

"Hope," her mother whined, "could you have at least knocked?"

"And miss the look on your faces? By the way, pizza's here."

"Thanks for the heads-up." Sam turned to Snively. "Are you gonna eat or sleep first?"

"I'll sleep for awhile." She kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well." He smiled warmly.

"I will." She and Hope left the room, closing the door quietly. He took his shoes and shirt off and curled up under the sheets and warm blanket. He yawned. 'I could get used to this.'

- - - -

Snively opened his eyes, giving a loud yawn. He rolled over and looked at the clock. 9:45. He'd slept for two hours and forty-five minutes. The fire had died out, leaving the room darkened. A soft knocking at the door was followed by a quiet voice requesting entry.

"Come in," he said. The door opened, revealing Sam, who had a mug in each of her hands. He could smell the welcoming smell of coffee.

"Sleep well?" she queried, sitting down next to him, giving him a mug.

"Thank you, and yes, I slept very well. I better get ready for work."

"Oh, okay," she replied, sounding disappointed. He got up, kissed her cheek, and got his bag before going into the bathroom to get in the shower and get ready for work. When he came out, he went downstairs to the kitchen because he was hungry. He saw Sam emptying the dishwasher.

"I saved you a couple pieces of pizza. It's just cheese," she said. He sat down at the table, seeing a plate of pizza at his place, warm. "Whaddaya want to drink?"

"Water's fine. Thank you."

"No prob." She set a glass in front of him. She left the room for five minutes and came back in, tying her long, black robe.

"Thank you for watching Serenity tonight."

"It's fine; can I ask you something?" They began to walk to the front door, their hands together.

"Yes, what is it?" he queried.

"Well, are we dating?" Sam asked bluntly.

"D-dating?"

"I mean, we've been on two dates and you're here, and I've been at your house. I thought we had something, y'know?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not certain I can honestly answer that."

"O-oh, okay. Well-uh, here's the key to get in and please don't tell 'anyone' about you staying here," Sam said quietly.

"Why?"

"You'll get bombarded by the tabloids and I know you wouldn't be able to handle it. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow. You're very welcome to come back after you get off work." He kissed her.

"I probably will. Goodnight Sam; sleep well," Snively said, leaving. As soon as she was sure he was gone, Sam went to her room, shut the door quietly, lay on her bed, and sobbed until she fell asleep.

- - - -

"Hey, Sniv', can't believe you're here," a man said.

"Don't call me that. And the only reason I'm here tonight is because I have plans on Saturday night," Snively said, pulling up a program on his computer and began working on it.

"Why work so hard?"

"Allan, my job, unlike yours, is not set in stone. I have to work hard in order to make financial needs."

"You're not going to get cut. You're the hardest worker I know," Allan laughed.

"I've been here two and a half months. It's very likely." Snively paused, "besides, I have someone more important to think about."

"Yeah, who's watching Serenity?"

"A girl I've been seeing." Allan choked on his coffee.

"A girl?! When? Where? Who?"

"I can't tell you who, but I met her at a music shop and took her out a few nights ago."

"I hope it works out for you."

"Thanks, I guess."

- - - -

Snively came quietly into the mansion, ready to go back to bed. He went upstairs, going into the first room on the left. He barely took notice of the right of the bed being unmade and shed his shirts, shoes, and belt, and got into the left side of the bed, falling asleep almost instantly. What he failed to notice was that he had company right beside him.

- - - -

Sam groaned and looked at her clock, then cursed.

"I need to stop sleeping so late," she muttered. She sighed, wondering why the left side of her chest felt weighted. She stretched and rolled over on her left side, closing her eyes. When she decided she couldn't sleep, she opened her eyes...and screamed.

"Whaa-" Someone rolled out of the bed quickly, falling to the floor. Sam peered over the side of her bed, holding the blanket over her chest. She knew nothing was showing, but it was an instinct for her to cover up.

"Wha-what's going on?" Sam felt like she could kick herself.

"Oh, Snively, I'm so sorry! You scared the crap out of me."

"I'm sorry. I thought I was in one of the guest rooms," Snively replied.

"It's okay. You do look really tired. You can sleep in here; I was getting up."

He smiled, "thank you." She helped him into the bed, noticing something.

"Your skin is really soft," Sam commented.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, I guess." She got up and went to get her long robe. "You have nice legs."

She threw her robe on. "Goodnight."

"Good morning." She smiled and left the room, leaving him so he could get some more sleep.

- - - -

"Where are we?" Snively asked.

"Cleveland National Forest," Sam replied. She parked her Porsche and they got out and unpacked their bags. He saw several tents and people around the campsite. "Where do you wanna set up?"

He looked around and saw two pine trees by each other. "There, under the pine trees." They set up their tent and put their sleeping bags and clothes in it.

"Now what?" Snively queried. She shrugged.

"Mingle and help fish or collect wood for a huge campfire." They went their separate ways, planning to meet up at dinner.

- - - -

Three hours later, Snively found himself sitting by Sam eating dinner. Later, after the sun had set, Sam had sung acoustic versions of some of her songs while playing her acoustic guitar. After the large fire had died down and was put out, they returned to their tents for the night.

Sam had fallen asleep rather quickly, leaving him to lay awake and think. 'I wonder if Serenity's alright.' He heard Sam whine in her sleep.

"Sam?" Snively quietly asked.

"NO!" She sat up quickly, seeing someone sit up. "Snively?"

"Yes? What's wrong?" she turned on a flashlight and sat closer to him.

"I just had a...a really sick nightmare."

"Care to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"It'll make you feel better." She gave Snively a funny look.

"Alright, if you insist. It might make you slightly jealous. Xavier Bronk, my ex, he...he raped me a few months ago and I...I just relived it. The strange thing is, is that it wasn't how I remembered it. He had these powers and used them against me."

"Sam, that's horrible! Why would you think I would ever be jealous of something like that?"

"Oh no, I meant the fact that I had another boyfriend."

"I'm not and besides, I had a wife."

"Yeah, I guess that beats ex-boyfriend. Did I wake you?" Sam queried.

"No, I was just thinking about Serenity." He lay back down and noticed she did the same. She turned off the flashlight before sighing heavily.

"I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Snively inquired.

"I'm...pregnant."

"Excuse me; you're what?"

"Yeah, pregnant. All because of Xavier."

"I'm sorry. If there's any way I can help out..." She nodded, then yawned.

"Thanks, but I think we should get some sleep.

"Agreed." He kissed her goodnight and after fifteen minutes, fell asleep.

- - - -

The next day, Snively jumped into the lake, with several others following. The women stayed up on the beach, sunbathing.

"Sam, come on," Snively said, splashing her, "get in."

"I do not swim," Sam replied stiffly.

"Why not?" he pressed.

"I don't like to."

"Come on, Sam."

"No, it smells like fish." She got up to walk up to the camp when Snively pulled on her leg, causing her to fall backwards into the water, landing in his arms. "What...was that for?" she demanded.

"To get you in the water," he replied.

"Yeah, now I'm wet and smell like fish." She tried to get out, slipped, and fell into mud. She finally got out, grabbed her towel, and stormed up to the campsite.

"Dude, I think you ticked her off," a guy said.

"No kidding," Snively replied sarcastically. He got out, grabbed his towel, and ran up to the campsite, ignoring the snickering from the other men. He looked around, seeing Sam's Porsche still parked where it was, meaning she wasn't far. He noticed she had taken some of her clothes from their tent and heard the faint sounds of a waterfall, wondering why he didn't hear it the day before. He smiled, 'she went to wash off.' He grabbed some clean clothes and put some shoes on before following the sound of the waterfall.

Five minutes later, he saw the medium sized waterfall. He looked around and saw her clothes in a neat pile along with a first- aid kit. 'I must have been too rough with her.' He set his things down by hers and took his shoes off, walking up to the waterfall, seeing her trying to rinse the mud from her hair. 'She looks so beautiful.' He didn't pay attention to the fact that she was naked. He saw rivulets of blood around her feet and felt horrible about it.

"Are you alright?" Snively asked. She turned and blushed.

"What are you doing here?" Sam replied. She didn't look happy.

"To check on you and to apologize," he said. He noticed her uncomfortable look and undressed, causing her to blush more than he was.

"Well, I guess I could use some company."

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know and it's okay, but I think I need a kiss to- Snively? You okay?" He was staring past her blankly. "Snively?"

"Hmm?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Has this happened to us before?"

"No. What do you mean?"

"I just saw something like this. You had me pinned against a wall (you were naked; I wasn't) and I switched positions with you and questioned you. You started yelling about a divorce and I kissed you to silence you."

"No, that never happened but you could give me a kiss." He smiled and took her in his arms, tilting her chin up, and gave her a kiss. They continued to kiss for five more minutes, finally breaking away from each other.

"We should get back," he murmured on her lips.

"We don't have to," she said, then gave him a kiss. He broke away from her gently.

"Let's go." He walked away from her and started to get dressed. She followed him and got dressed after dressing her small wounds. They walked back to the camp holding hands.

- - - -

Two weeks passed quickly and Snively and Sam grew closer with every passing day. Sam was working on inventory in her music shop in the back when she heard the shop's door slam shut.

"Sam?" It was Snively. 'He sounds upset.'

"Coming!" she replied. She walked into the front of the shop, seeing her boyfriend fumble for a lid for his coffee cup. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I got sacked," Snively replied flatly, flopping into a bean bag chair.

"That sucks," she said, sitting by him. She played with his hair, trying to make him smile.

"I don't know how I'm going to make ends meet," Snively said. She kissed his forehead.

"I'll talk to Erika." He took one of her hands.

"Listen, Serenity is staying the night with one of her friends tonight and I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight?" he asked.

"I'd love to, but I gotta work tonight."

"What about after work? Or maybe you can get off early?"

"I'll think about it." Erika came in, surprised to see them.

"It's 7:30 you guys. Isn't it kind of early in the morning for you to be here?"

"What about you?" Sam pointed out.

"I'm here every morning at this time. You?"

"Meh, I couldn't sleep. He just came from work. I need to talk to you later, Erika."

- - - -

Snively smoothed his dark green shirt, hearing a knock at the door. 'She's here!' he thought excitedly. He went to the dining room and quickly lit some candles before dimming the lights and answering the door.

"Hey," Sam said.

"Hey," he replied, giving her a kiss. He brought her into the dining room, pulling a chair out for her. She sat down, smiling at him.

"Thanks. But, what's this all for?"

"Shh. You'll know all in good time. Just relax," Snively said. He put the dinner on the table, seeing her eyes light up.

"Excuse me," he said in the middle of the meal. He left the room and came back with two small black boxes.

"Ooh, I have an idea what's in those boxes," Sam said.

"I'm sure you do." He gave her one of the boxes, watching her open it. She put the side of a fist to her lips. It was a diamond necklace; silver chain, ten diamonds linked together in a slightly curvy fashion.

"Oh my gosh. Snively, I can't accept this," she said, turning to him in her seat. He lifted the necklace from the box and put it around her neck, fastening it, completely ignoring what she said.

"Here," he said, putting another box in her hands, waiting eagerly for her to open it. When she set it on the table and looked at the dinner, he saw a look of unhappiness on her face. "What's wrong?"

"It...just seems like you spent a lot of money for this evening. And you just lost your job."

"Sam, don't worry about it. Let's just finish eating." He sat down and they ate in silence. "Could you at least open the box?"

"Will it make you feel better?" He nodded, smiling. She opened the box, seeing five diamonds (the one in the middle being the biggest) resting snuggly in a silver ring. She sat down in his lap, giving him a kiss of gratitude. He wasn't quite sure how long they made out but he liked it and craved more of her. And he knew she felt the same way, otherwise, they wouldn't be in his bedroom.

"Sam," Snively said, smoothing her hair behind her ears.

"Yes?" she was looking down at him in his bed. His hands were now at her hips.

"Sam," he took a breath, "I love you." He was answered by several kisses and let his mind give up the battle against his heart and couldn't have been happier...

- - - -

The sun's rays shined down on the exhausted couple. 'He said he loved me, no, loves me,' Sam thought. She rolled over to look at her boyfriend. 'He looks so peaceful and happy. Why can't I feel the same? Why couldn't I tell him I loved him?' Snively heaved a sigh and rolled onto his back. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. She jerked away and sat up, holding her head in pain.

"What was that?" she muttered. So many images of her and Snively flashed in her eyes. She got up and went to the closet, hoping to find something to throw on. She put on a black shirt and collected her clothes and looked for his washer and dryer. She threw her clothes in the washer along with some of what was in the laundry bin. She went to his bedroom, wondering when Snively would wake up. She changed loads and put more clothes in the washer and waited for the other clothes to dry in the dryer. Sam did the dishes and folded the newly clean clothes. She put her clothes in the bathroom and took a shower. Sam did another load of laundry after getting dressed. She sat in Snively's room, bored. 'I don't want to wake him; he was so tired.' She heard the doorbell ring and frowned. Her boyfriend stirred some in his sleep. She went to the front door and cracked it open.

"Hello, can I help you?" Sam asked.

"Is Snively Kintobor here?" a man queried. She opened the door, folding her arms over her chest and putting her weight on one foot.

"Who wants to know?"

"His former landlord."

"Oh, well...um, he's really not available right now. Maybe I could help?" Sam answered. The man handed her a white and red envelope.

"Give him that and tell Snively he has two days." The man turned and walked away and then turned around again. "You're Sam Brody, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My daughter loves you but said she's getting bored with you." Sam frowned.

"Then maybe she didn't get the real message of the songs."

"Songs? I was talking about all of the partying you did. Enough talk. Sam," the landlord said before getting in his truck and driving away. She went inside, confused.

"Partying?" she wondered aloud softly. "When did I do that?"

"Sam?" she went into the back bedroom.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Sam said, sitting in the bed. He smiled.

"How long have you been up?"

"A couple of hours."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked too peaceful and I needed some time to think." Snively sat up, pulling her into his arms.

"What did you need to think about?" he asked, kissing her neck.

"Us, and now I need to think about my music and what to do with it."

"What about us?" she knew that was coming.

"Well, I thought about last night and what you said to me," Sam explained. "Did you mean it? Did you really, truly mean it?"

"Sam, of course I meant it and I still do. I love you, Sam. Why? Don't you feel the same way?" She looked down at her hands, guilt on her face. "Sam, don't you?"

"I don't know. I mean, I think I love you, but I don't think I'm in love." Snively stared at her face, trying to see past her crestfallen look. He couldn't see anything past that, but knew she felt bad about it.

"It's fine; I was just curious." He gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to get in the shower. You better get to work; you're already late." Sam stood.

"You better hurry or you're going to be even later for your new job."

"'New job?'" she wrote something on a sticky note. "What's this?"

"The address to your new job." She was halfway down the hall.

"Sam, this is where your music shop is."

"Exactly." 'I don't understand her sometimes,' he thought.

- - - -

"Just set that box down by the coffee counter," Erika said. Snively put a big box down on the floor. "Have you seen Sam?"

"No, I haven't. By the way, thank you for the job," Snively said.

"Not a problem. I didn't think we needed three people, but I guess I was wrong." She thought for a moment. "What 'did' you guys do last night?"

"I took last night to tell Sam that I'm in love with her," he replied.

"You love Sam?"

"Yes, but she didn't seem to take it well."

"She's like that. If something good happens, she denies it for a long time. It'll take a lot for her to admit to something."

"She said she wasn't sure about her feelings for me," Snively said in a dejected manner.

"She knows what she feels and that's not it," Erika answered. Their conversation dropped quickly when Sam walked through the shop's door.

"Hey guys!" she greeted before her expression grew serious. "Snively, I really need to talk to you."

"And you guys have all the time you need because I gotta be somewhere," Erika said, grabbing her purse.

"Where?" Sam queried.

"I have show tonight." As soon as she left, Erika quickly called Sydney. "Guess what?"

"What?" Sydney questioned.

"Snively told Sam that he was in love with her!"

"That's great! Did she-?"

"Unfortunately, no. Hey, do you know any good actors?" Erika asked.

"No, not really. Why?" Sydney replied.

"Because I have an idea to get Sam to admit her love for Snively," Erika said.

- - - -

"That's just wonderful," Snively said sarcastically. "First, I lose my job, now it's my home."

"I don't mean to sound harsh, but did you pay rent?" Sam asked.

"He rarely sent a bill to me!"

"Well maybe you dropped it when going in."

"No, I would've noticed. The envelope had red on it. I let Serenity get the mail a lot of the time because she loved to do it."

"The envelopes all had red on them?" Sam queried. "And Serenity got the mail?"

"Yes," Snively replied.

"So-uh, what's Serenity's favorite color?"

"Red..." He sighed. "She must have taken the bills and hid them."

"If you need some place to stay, you can stay with Hope and me for as long as you need."

"Thank you but I don't want to annoy-"

"Oh, I insist!"

"Alright." Snively looked at the clock. "What time do we close?"

"It's Thursday so 7:00." Several hours ticked by and after doing inventory in the back, Sam and Snively came up into the front of the shop to do more inventory.

"Sam, I thought you said we closed at 7:00," Snively said.

"I did."

"Then why are we still here?"

"We almost always do inventory on Thursday," Sam replied. "Besides, we're done."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally!"

"I can come over to help you pack or something," she answered. The glass door of the shop shattered open, revealing two robbers. Sam gave a short scream and hid behind the counter where the cash register was stationed. Snively grabbed a guitar and swung at one of the robbers, hitting his chest. He swung backwards and hit the other robber and heard the man groan in pain. The two 'thieves' took off, afraid that they were about to be hit again. As soon as they were down the street some, Erika gave them each money.

"A hundred bucks each? That's double of what you said!" one of them exclaimed.

"The extra fifty is for the beating you got. Now get out of here," Erika laughed. She walked up to the store, hearing her cousin sob. She stood where she was and listened in on the conversation.

- - - -

I'm so-o sorry-y," Sam choked into Snively's shoulder. He continued to hold her in his arms, trying to comfort her.

"Everything's fine. We just need to fix the door and replace a guitar. It's not that big of a deal," he said calmly, soothing her some. She whispered something very quietly into his shoulder. "I'm sorry but I didn't hear you."

She pulled away from him slightly, tears still running freely down her face. She took a deep breath trying to calm down.

"I-I-I love you," Sam softly said.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Your cousin tipped me off," Snively smiled. He gave her a kiss, millions upon millions of images flooding into his mind. He was thrown across the store and fell into a drum set. /What was that?/ he wondered.

/Considering we're using telepathy, I'd say that that was us getting our memories back/ Sam replied.

"What happened here?" Erika exclaimed, walking in as if she were 'shocked.'

"Like you don't know," Snively snorted. He got up and walked to his wife. She looked at her cousin.

"Do you think everyone who was affected from the memory swipe got their memories back?" Sam asked.

"Most definitely," Erika replied.

"We need to get the kids," Snively said. "We have to get them before we do anything." The other two nodded. The couple left after helping with the door. They picked Serenity up first and Sam disrupted a party rather quickly to grab Hope.

"Mom, did you 'have' to do that?" Hope whined.

"Yeah, I did."

"Dad, what's going on?" He pulled over on the side of the road by a park.

"Hope, you're lucky your mother and I are alive right now. There's a possibility that we may be caught in another war and will have to go into temporary hiding," her father answered sternly. They saw several different colors surround them. Someone pounded on the passenger window. Sam turned her head, only to come face to face with her sister.

"Drive, Snively," she said, trying to keep a calm look and an authoritative tone of voice.

"Sam, there are people in front of us."

"They're Senshi, they'll be fine."

"No, they won't."

"Drive, Snively."

"No, Sam. We're fine."

"Drive, DANG IT!" The urgency of her voice finally made him decide to drive. Unfortunately, he didn't do it fast enough. They were dragged out of the SUV and knocked out quickly, aside from the children.

"Momma!" Serenity wailed. "Daddy!"

"Alright, back to base," Sophia said, making a hasty retreat into a portal, with several others following after with the captives.

- - - -

/Snively?...Snively, answer me...Are you okay?/ Sam asked. She was in cuffs and was blindfolded.

/I'm fine. Are you?/ her husband answered.

/Yeah. Where are you?/

/The Throne Room at your parents' palace./

/Oh. Are the kids-/

/-Yes, they're close to me. I'm in cuffs and in custody./

/At least you know what's going on. I'm in cuffs and am blindfolded./ She heard a door open and footsteps. /What's going on?/ Sam inquired.

/Two guards went into a room/ Snively replied.

"Let's go, Sam," a saddened voice said. She knew that voice.

"Simon, what's going on? You didn't call me princess, not that I mind or anything. It's just that I'm used to you call-"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Just please cooperate so this can end," Simon answered as he and another guard led her somewhere.

/Sam, you're in the Throne Room./

/Good to know./ Her blindfold was removed and she looked around the room, seeing friends, royalty from different planets, the Freedom Fighters, and her foster family as well as the rest of her family. Sophia was striding up to her with a cold look in her eyes. She slapped her sister across the face.

/Sam-/

/I'm fine./

"On your knees," Sophia ordered.

"No," Sam replied, challenging her little sister.

"I will ask you again; on your knees, peasant."

"No, I won't do it." She was shoved to her knees by a guard. She knew it wasn't Simon because he was by her husband now. Sophia cleared her voice.

"Sam, you are charged with treason. Your punishment is execution," Sophia said in a loud enough voice to be heard by everyone. She loaded a pistol and aimed it, seeing her sister stare up at her calmly.

"Go ahead, do it," Sam said. Sophia put the end of the gun at her older sister's forehead and began to pull the trigger, trying to ignore the confronting stare.

"Uncuff her," Sophia ordered. The guards obeyed, though they were unsure.

"Are you going to shoot me or what?" Sam asked. Sophia was so close to shooting...if she pulled her finger back a little bit more, her sister would be dead again.

"I can't do it," Sophia sobbed, dropping the pistol and collapsing into her sister's arms, who still held a calm look and let her sob into her shoulder, holding her. Sam glanced up, seeing what looked like many sighs of relief.

"What made you stop?" she whispered.

"The way you looked at me."

"My Queen!" a servant said, rushing into the room. "The Underworld is attacking!" Demons came flooding into the room, engaging in battle with the guards and Senshi. The sisters got up and fought together against the Underworld. Xavier grabbed Sam from behind and disappeared with her.

"Retreat!" Ann yelled before following after Xavier. The demons followed their leaders quickly.

"Where's Sam?" Snively asked after the excitement seemed to die down some.

"Xavier must have gotten her," Arable said. Snively looked immediately alarmed.

"We have to get her," he said.

"I'm not," Sophia answered sharply.

"I'm not either," Alicia said.

"She's your friend!" Leo protested.

"Whose side are you on!" Melissa snapped.

"Excuse me," Snively yelled, getting everyone's attention. "I need to know who's going with me and I need to know now."

"I will," Sydney said. Others began to step up as well. Sophia cleared her throat just as they turned to leave.

"What is it?" Snively queried.

"None of you are permitted to come back once you leave," Sophia said firmly.

"What?" Alex replied.

"Are you..." Sydney began.

"declaring war on us?" Snively said, finishing what Sydney was saying unintentionally.

"Exactly."

"Then it's war," Snively said firmly. He turned to the ones who were to go with him. "Come on, let's go." He walked out of the Throne Room with part of the Senshi following him. 'Sam's not going to be thrilled about this.'

- - - -

Snively and Sydney led their Senshi through the Underworld, not understanding the vacancy. It usually had guards everywhere but there were none present.

"Where is everyone?" Snively muttered.

"Probably making sure Sam doesn't escape," Sydney replied

"If I'm right, there should be six rooms where they would kill her," Erika said. She pulled out a holographic map. "And they should be in the fourth one."

Alex pulled on an air vent, taking the piece of metal off and looked in the vent. 'Pretty big but still too small for all of us,' she decided.

"Hey, who's the smallest of us?" Alex queried. They looked around at each other.

"Ikshu," they agreed. Snively, Phobos, and Deimos hoisted Sailor Luna up and into the vent.

'What do I do?" Ikshu queried.

"Crawl up to the next vent and see if Sam's in the next room and how many demons are in there," Snively replied. Ikshu nodded and crawled through the vent. 'Time to contact Sam,' Snively thought.

/Sam, are you alright?/

/No, please...please help me./

"Is she okay?" Erika asked, an earnest look on her face.

"She doesn't sound like it."

"Maybe you can channel what she's feeling?" Deimos said.

"I don't know. I'm still new at this," Snively replied.

"He's right; his powers are still too weak to do much. I'm not even sure what he can do," Erika said.

"Hey, help me out of this," Ikshu said, poking her head out of the vent. Sydney and Sailor Juno pulled the Sailor Senshi out and down to the floor. "Guys, it's really bad. There are demons everywhere. And Sam's in bad shape too."

"What's wrong with her?" Snively inquired.

"Xavier's using this sick...way to...to torture her," Sailor Luna said. "And it seems like she's in a lot of pain."

"Let's move," Snively said.

"We can't just barge in," said Sailor Chuu.

"Chuu's right," Juno commented.

"Look, we have a plan. We go in, get Sam, and get out," Snively said, walking to the closed door. "Let's move."

"Here, you'll need this," Sydney said, handing him a sword. "Just in case."

"I don't know how to-"

"Just do what seems right." The Senshi burst into the room, taking out as many demons as they could. Snively stormed up to Xavier, who was ordering Ann to flick more liquid on Sam's abdomen. Sam screamed, tears running freely down her face.

/Snively, please save me!/

/Sam, I'm here./

"Hey sis, why not take me on?" Sydney challenged, pulling her sister away from Sam. Xavier stabbed Sam, who screamed in more pain. Demons fought to keep Snively back. Snively watched in revolt as Xavier pulled something out of Sam's stomach and drop it on her chest.

"I told you not to do anything with him," Xavier hissed.

"You moron," Sam coughed, "that was your kid." Xavier looked shocked, like he wasn't expecting to hear that. He took the bottle Ann had and dumped whatever liquid was in the bottle on Sam's wound.

"Get away from her!" Snively growled, forming a black energy ball. He looked down at it before launching it at Xavier, knocking Xavier back into a wall. Snively ran up to Sam, trying to keep his dinner from coming up.

"S-Sam, I have to detach it from you," he said quietly.

"No, please put it back," she sobbed.

"I'm sorry but I have to." He reluctantly took his sword and cut something from Sam, who continued to wail. He cut the leather binds that kept his wife tied down to the stone table. He picked her up and looked around quickly, there was a battle still going strong. He had to end it quickly and get his wife medical attention.

"Retreat!" Snively yelled.

"Where?!" Erika said.

"Great Forest!" he replied, orbing out. The others eventually followed with Sydney being last.

- - - -

Snively banged on Dr. Quack's door quickly. He didn't know how much time he had but he wasn't going to waste it.

"Horatio!" he called. A light flicked on inside the hut and the duck opened the door.

"What happened?" he asked, seeing Sam's bloody and sweaty form. He forgot to ask if it were an emergency before he opened the door. But now it was unnecessary to ask such a thing because it was a dire situation. "Is she even alive?"

"Yes; I'd be dead also if she weren't. Just please help her." The doctor opened the door further and invited the couple in. Snively laid Sam on an examination table.

"Can you help her?" Snively queried. He had managed to lull her to sleep and held her hand as a way to let her know he was still by her side.

"Yes, I believe I can," Dr. Quack said. "Was she...pregnant?"

"Yes, but Xavier ruined that for her. How could you tell?" the doctor put on some gloves and lifted Sam's shirt. "I see the umbilical cord but it has been cut, I'm assuming you did that to save her, and her uterus is stretched. But, I can easily fix this by stitching her belly back together..." Horatio noticed something strange when he started to work. "Was she burned by any chance?"

"No, but Xavier and Ann were pouring some type of liquid on her. Perhaps a chemical reaction caused this?"

"That has to be it. You look exhausted," Dr. Quack said. Snively nodded and tried to suppress a yawn.

"You don't know the half of it."

"You may go rest on the couch in my living room."

"No, I need to stay with her," the Overlander answered. After five minutes, the duck looked over and saw his patient's husband fast asleep.

"Am I permitted to be in here?" Sydney asked, standing in the doorway.

"But of course. I need to get Snively of here," Dr. Quack said.

"No problem; where do you want him," the red head replied.

"On the couch in the living room." Sydney chanted something and Snively was lifted into the air and Sydney walked into another room with Snively following. She placed a blanket over him once he was on the couch. He sighed heavily and rolled over, turning away from her. 'And that's that,' she thought. Sydney walked back into the examination room Dr. Quack was in.

"She's mended up; give her a few days and she'll be ready to go," the duck said. Sam yawned and looked at them.

"Where's Snively?" she inquired.

"He's asleep," Dr. Quack answered.

"Oh. Well, can we go home?"

"I don't see why not," Sydney said. Sam sat up, wincing, and walked slowly out of the room. She saw her husband on the couch and smiled. She touched his face gently and orbed them into their hut's bedroom. She snapped her fingers and nightclothes appeared on both of them. She crawled into bed next to her husband, pulling the covers over both of them. She gave him a tender kiss and snuggled into him. 'I'm finally home,' Sam thought before falling asleep.

- - - -

Snively opened his tired eyes to see Sam's head on his chest. The sun shined brightly into the room, revealing Snively and Sam's bedroom. 'I'm...home? But, how-?' he looked down at his wife and knew how he got there. She sighed in her sleep and nudged him. He lay there and held her for awhile before getting up and going to the bathroom. He came back into his bedroom to find his wife beginning to stir. He got back in bed, letting Sam prop her head on his shoulder.

"Good morning," she smiled. He kissed her forehead.

"Good morning to you too," Snively replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, aside from the fact that I lost my baby."

"Sam, you know I had to do it."

"Yeah, I know but it just seems like I can't keep my kids ali-"

"That's not true. We have Hope and Serenity after all."

"Yeah, but after Serenity, it's like every time I'm able to have a baby, I fail," she answered, suddenly taking interest in the edge of their blanket. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Sam, we'll have one when we're both ready and able," Snively said. She gave him an odd look.

"'Ready and able?' Snively, don't you want to have more kids?"

"Of course I do. But, right now, we're fighting against Naugus and the Underworld and now we have a war against So-" he stopped.

"Another war?" she inquired. "When did this happen and who is it against?" He sighed before taking her hands in his. "Snively? What's going on?"

"Sam, the Senshi split and Sophia declared war on us."

"W-what?" Snively nodded. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Fight a three way war."

"A three way war? Snively, there's no way we're going to be able to pull that off."

"We can and we will. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Snively said, getting up and going to the closet. Sam followed him and frowned. "What?"

"I just realized I don't have anything here to wear."

"Sam, I saved all of your stuff, including your laptop." She gave him a hug.

"Thanks; you're a saint."

"Not quite. Your clothes are in the guest room on the top shelf in the closet." She smiled and left the room. Snively dressed and went into the kitchen to look for breakfast. He went through the cabinets, disappointed. 'I guess I need to clean this place; it needs it,' he decided.

"Hey Sam!" he called.

"Yeah?"

"You want to eat in the Dining Hall?" She came into the kitchen.

"Sure, why not?" They walked out of the hut holding hands.

"Sam?" Snively said. She looked at him.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"You look great." She smiled warmly.

"You do too." He shook his head.

"No, I don't." She stood in front of him.

"That's not true and you know it. Why do you put yourself down so much?" They continued walking.

"I don't know. My father and uncle had put me down for almost my entire life and something changed it so abruptly that for awhile, it made me feel so good about myself, you know?"

"Yeah, I know! You saw my life, remember? By the way, what changed?"

"You came." She smiled and kissed him, letting him take control and kiss back.

"Talk about PDA," Sonic said. The couple broke off and gave the hedgehog a dark glare before going in the Dining Hall.

"What was that look for?" Sonic wondered.

"Like you don't know," Sally said, going in. He followed her and pulled the princess aside.

"Sal," he said lowly, "when are ya goin' to break it to them?"

"I was getting ready to," Sally replied.

"Well, just go easy on 'em," the hedgehog answered. The two got their meal and sat down by the humans.

"Hey guys," Sam greeted between bites of her meal.

After throwing his wife a look about her table manners, Snively spoke, "good morning...Sally, what's wrong? You seem very troubled." He looked over at Sam. "Sam, were you raised in a barn?"

She burped and gave an innocent look. "Maybe." Sonic laughed a little before getting a scornful look from both Sally and Snively.

"You're full of it," Snively replied. "Speaking of full, are you going to be able to eat all of that?"

She looked at her plate of food; there was a lot there. "Yeah."

"Um, Snively, Sam," Sally said, gaining their attention once again. "I hate to be the one to say this but-"

"-we can't stay here," Sam interrupted.

"How did you know what I was going to say?"

"Just had a notion because of the way you spoke and acted."

"When do you want us gone?" Snively queried. He should have known that this would happen.

"Well, today." Sam stopped eating and set her jaw.

"So what- you want us to pack our home?" she asked.

"No, but we can't risk Knothole being in danger," Sally said. Snively nodded.

"I understand where you're coming from but I don't know where we're supposed to go," he said. Sam slapped the table.

"Done!" He gave her an annoyed look and then saw the food on her plate was completely gone. 'Where does she put it all? That was quite a bit of food,' he wondered.

"And," she continued, "I know where to go with everyone."

"Sam, why didn't you say something before?" Snively asked.

"You never asked." He sighed. The others finished eating and then Snively and Sam went to their hut and packed belongings that they wanted to take with them or knew their daughters would want. Afterwards, they said goodbye to the village and left in a portal. When they got to the other side, Snively looked in awe.

"Where are we?" he inquired.

"Snively, welcome to HQ!" Sam answered proudly. In front of them was a short hall but it was decorated elaborately. Well, elaborate in Sam's taste. They walked down the hall, passing doors on both sides of the hall.

"Sam, what are-"

"-bedrooms for our Senshi and any others who are on our side. We also have a big kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a huge gym, and a recording studio. We have more but I don't remember all of it."

'This is it," Snively said. She looked at him curiously.

"This is what?" Sam asked.

"This is home...what do you want to do?"

"Get something to eat and watch Bleach." He laughed and put his arm around her shoulders as they walked off to the kitchen...

The End!

A.N.: Finally! I'm finished.  I think that this is the longest thing I've ever written in any of the series. Sorry it took so long to write but summer vacation is my time off and when I tried to write, I got distracted. Another term for distracted in my case is 'short attention span.' I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to get back on a good writing schedule or whatever as soon as school starts (which in my case, is Aug. 20th).

Later!

M.P.

'Cross the Line' is an awesome song by Superchick and I heart it.


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